Leader Sports beat Al Bayan in Sharjah Ramadan Football
sharjah — Leader Sport narrowly defeated Al Bayan 4-3 in a tense thriller on the opening night of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) on Friday, while Rich Target scored a convincing 6-2 win against Wasit in the opener of the tournament’s first ever Under-14 category.
The championship which is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, began with a spectacular opening ceremony at Sharjah Sports Club’s indoor stadium.
Organised by the Sharjah Sports Channel for the third consecutive year, the two-week tournament features 16 adult teams playing in a four-group knockout competition, and four Under-14 sides competing head-to-head. In the opening match of the junior tournament Khalid Al Obaidli netted the first goal for Rich Target in the third minute before Rashid Darwish scored an equalizer for Wasit in the fifth. The reprieve was short-lived however, as Al Obaidli scored his second shortly afterwards. He went on to clinch his hat-trick in the 11th minute and Saif Al Hammadi netted a fourth, ending the first half with a 4-1 lead for Rich Target.
Things looked no better for Wasit in the second half as Ali Abdul Qader slotted in a fifth for Rich Target, although Mohammed Ahmed pulled back a token goal to score Wasit’s second.
But it proved to be Al Obaidli’s night as scored his fourth to mark up a 6-2 victory.
The first senior match saw Leader Sport face Al Bayan in a much tighter match. Moroccan player Sofian Al Mesrar put Leader Sport ahead in the sixth minute only to see that wiped out when Ahmed Al Suwaidi scored an equalizer for Al Bayan in the 13th minute.
Just a minute later, Al Bayan went ahead and in a frenzied end to the first half, it was less than 60 seconds later that Bilal Baqali scored Leader Sport’s second goal to go into the break at 2-2.
A tense end-to-end second half, the crowd had to wait a full 11 minutes until the deadlock was broken in the form of Sofian’s second and Leader Sport’s third. Things soon looked beyond Al Bayan’s reach as Bilal Baqali scored Leader’s fourth. Al Bayan’s Spanish professional Leman Lecor clawed back a third for Al Bayan in the last minute of the match, but with a 4-3 win for Leader Sport it was just too little too late.